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It comes as a bit of a surprise that Pittsfield, Mass. -- a city that has a long association with the plastics industry -- is considering banning polystyrene food service containers.The Berkshire Eagle newspaper reported the news today, "Pittsfield hears opening arguments on proposed plastic foam ban." According to news reports, Rinaldo Del Gallo, a local attorney, is petitioning the city to ban PS. He's making the typical arguments -- that PS is hard to recycle, that alternative products like paper are better, and that there are chemical safety issues with polystyrene.Dart Container Corp. is leading the fight against the ban.

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Ford Motor Co. has created a pretty good video on how it uses 3D printing in its design and engineering efforts.The example just happens to be a nice plastics application, a new manual transmission shift knob.The process allows engineers to experience the real look and feel of a part that they are developing for Ford vehicles.

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Get ready for another wave of headlines that attempts to inform the public about which plastics are good -- and which ones are bad.Gawker Media's science blog io9.com yesterday posted a long item headlined "How to recognize plastics that are hazardous to your health."I've seen articles like this before, rating plastics based on chemical safety issues, giving a clean bill of health to some and advising consumers to avoid others.This column is pretty ambitious. It's goal, according to authors -- George Dvorsky and

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Polystyrene cups and other food service products are under pressure from activists and politicians -- like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. But not everyone agrees that PS should be banned.Jessica Holbrook, one of Plastics News' staff reporters, shared this photo that she took at Muggswigz Coffee & Tea Co., which she describes as "a fantastic coffee shop" in downtown Canton, Ohio.The sign reads: "Today's Tidbit: Our polystyrene to-go cups use 2x less energy in production than standard cups."Jessica wrote: "I was pretty excited to find something Tweet-worthy and plastics related. And bonus points for not calling them Styrofoam."Absolutely right.

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In a post earlier this week, I wrote that plastics recyclers should invite their Congressional representative for a plant tour.Obviously the advice applies to every manufacturer in the plastics industry.I like to highlight when processors host such an event, and today's example is Hilliard, Ohio-based Advanced Drainage Systems Inc.ADS had U.S. Rep. Robert Latta tour its Findlay, Ohio, polyethylene pipe extrusion plant. The congressman watched equipment making large diameter, corrugated pipe used in storm water management systems."We appreciate the opportunity to discuss the needs of our organization and to provide an overview of how we operate, with a focus on our employee development programs," Tom Fussner, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a news release.

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I think it's usually pretty easy to identify plastic products by resin type and process — although I still pause when I see an unfamiliar package on a store shelf.But the most non-plastics folks don't know (or care) about the difference between PET, oriented polystyrene and PVC.And that can be a problem when someone wants to do the right thing and recycle their plastic products.The issue was reinforced to me the past few days, which I spent at the Plastics Recycling conference in New Orleans.I spent my time talking to many of the 1,000+ attendees — many of the people who are responsible for the tremendous growth that we've seen in plastics recycling.They'd like that growth to continue to accelerate, but they know there are still some barriers to overcome.

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Recyclers can be playing a bigger role in letting a skeptical public know about plastics' environmental advantages.That's part of the message delivered March 19 to a major meeting of plastics recyclers in New Orleans. The speakers were Bill Carteaux, president and CEO of the Society of the Plastics Industry Inc., and Steve Russell, head of the American Chemistry Council's plastics division.In response to a question about the plastics industry's image problem and how recycling — one of the fastest-growing plastics sectors — can help, Carteaux jumped at the opportunity to say how recyclers can help combat some of the misinformation and "junk science" that dog plastics."When is the last time you had a Congressman or a Senator visit your facility?" he asked the crowd at the Plastics Recycling 2013 conference, sponsored by Resource Recycling Inc.

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The biggest deal of 2012 -- in fact, the biggest story in plastics last year -- is a done deal.Spartech Corp. shareholders today approved the company's acquisition by PolyOne Corp. The $393 million deal was first disclosed way back on Oct. 24. Now that Spartech's shareholders have given their consent, the transaction will officially be completed on March 13.What's up first? As expected, Vicki Holt , president and CEO of Spartech, will be leaving the company, following a 30-day transition period. You'll recall that Spartech approved a $5 million golden parachute for Holt, which was disclosed in February.But more changes are in the works.

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Here's one especially for the Plastics Blog readers who majored in chemical engineering and chemistry.Dorea Reeser, a Ph.D. candidate in environmental chemistry at the University of Toronto, wrote a guest blog post for Scientific American titled "'Chemical' doesn't mean 'toxic.'"The column is pretty funny – but it makes a serious point too. Many people — including (I'm sorry to say) the news media too frequently misuse terms like "chemical," making it synonymous with "toxic.""Because of this chemicals are often advertised as the bane of our existence.

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How would you like to debate an Oscar-winning actor -- on television? That's a daunting assignment to be sure, even for someone who's comfortable dealing with with the media.But a plastics industry leader got that tough duty yesterday, when actor Jeremy Irons debated Peter Davis, director-general of the British Plastics Federation, on Channel 4 News.The topic: Plastic bag taxes and dealing with plastic waste.

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